The Tale of a Legend
by Noxid Anamchara
Summary: A retelling of Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance and Radiant Dawn through the eyes of the only person who knew the Hero of the Mad King's war better than anyone, even himself. Rated M just to be safe.
1. Start at the Beginning

**EM:** Playing FE: PoR has inspired this little baby of mine, which will be my first FE fic. Hope you enjoy!

**Disclaimer:** Fire Emblem: PoR does not belong to me nor will it ever. Besides, its beautiful just the way it is.

**Summary:** Years have passed since the events of Radiant Dawn and there is only one person who can recount, so well, the story of the Hero of the Mad King's war. And so the tale begins...

* * *

Start at the Beginning

I had never been the talking type. My words, once, caused me punishment. Now though, thanks to _**you**_, my words were appreciated and at times, I would speak without hesitation, finding my own brazenness shocking. You would disagree as you always do, but I owed you everything.

"Please won't you tell me what he was like? I've heard the stories, the rumors but…I want to know who he was."

She wanted to know you. The life you have led. I do not know if I should tell her, if it is even my story to tell. But you…you would smile kindly and ruffle her hair. She reminds me of Mist and I imagine she would make you feel the same. Her smile is kind, despite the life I know she must have lived. The mark that graces the center of chest, so blatantly exposed, tells me it can't have been easy. Though the Laguz have made substantial progress, we, the Branded, still have much to obtain.

But I never had to worry with you. I knew that I belonged wherever you went. When I was at your side, there was no one who could tell me otherwise. Thinking of you, I almost feel as if…

"My lord?" Turning to her, I find that to deny her request would be to deny your existence and to deny your existence would be like denying my own as well. For without you, I would not be who I am today. Smiling softly in return I look out across the plain before me. We have crossed this plain before. You and I also met here, for the first time.

You would probably laugh at my sentimentality, finding it strange that I would be so strongly affected by it. But the day I met you, was the day I knew I was alive. Being here only brings back those memories so vividly. It's still beautiful, still as peaceful as ever, the wind rushing through the tall grass. Would it be absurd if I said that these days, I can feel you everywhere that I go? We've travelled across all of Tellius and there are times when I wish that I couldn't remember every place, every memory I have of us, here in this place, in this world.

She's waiting patiently, for me to give her my response. To tell her this story would be to live again what is so far gone.

Can I do it, my friend? Can I relive what I have missed for so long now? My only fear is that she will see what time has done to me. But I can already see you smiling at me, telling me that there's nothing to fear, that it's only a story.

**But it's **_**my story**_** of **_**you**_**. **

**These are my memories of **_**us**_**. **

"If you don't want to-"

But everything around me is telling me to stay, stay and tell a story that deserves to be remembered for all time. That is should be a Legend.

Sitting against a nearby tree, the wind blows across my face and I close my eyes. It is you who I see behind my eyes. Your smile.

_Tell him, my friend. Tell him __**our**__ story. _

"What do you want to know?" Her eyes light up in excitement and she falls to her knees next to me, the wind kicking up her dark red hair.

"My Lord-" Halting her, I laugh a little myself.

"I am no Lord. I am merely a Wind Sage. And my name is Soren." She blushes as she casts her eyes downward.

"It would be disgraceful for me to call you in such an informal way. You who have stood beside the Hero of the Mad War…" She looks off to the side, avoiding my gaze.

Such triviality. What is in a name? I am not and will never be a Lord. To accept such a title would be idiotic. There is nothing in having a title.

"If you wish to hear my tale, then you will call me by my name. I am no Lord. I am who I am." She trembles under my harsh gaze. I can feel you placing your hand on my shoulder, squeezing it, reigning me in. It has been too long since I have showed that side of me.

"Master Soren…"I glare at her again but she continues on, her gaze steady this time, challenging me.

"Fine." She smiles brilliantly and sits on the grass, folding her legs before her.

"Where do I start?" Her eyes glow with anticipation.

"Start from the beginning."

* * *

**EM:** Well? Hope to see you next chapter.


	2. To War

**EM: **Soren's storytelling will be in italics. It keeps me focused on what is past and what is present and I hope that this will make sense to you all as well. _Past_, Present.

To the both of you who reviewed, so very long ago, I LOVE you!

**Disclaimer:** Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance and Radiant Dawn are not mine.

* * *

**To War**

_Start at the beginning._

What is the beginning? Whose beginning does she ask for? Mine? My beginning is not a legend, nor will I share with anyone what my beginning was. You are the only one who knows, the only one who will ever know.

The beginning.

Does she ask for yours? Where your life began I know only because you have told me. But that too is not my story to tell. Perhaps the best place to begin is with the turn of the country, the beginning of the war. Though it is not the beginning of you and I, it is a beginning I believe that will make the most sense, a beginning that will end it all.

"The beginning you say…" She scoots closer to me.

"Before I begin, I would ask of you something." She cocks her head to the side and nods, confusion plain on her face.

"First your name. And second…" Even though you did what you did for the lives of those you care for my friend, I will not allow it to be forgotten.

"I ask that you remember everything that I will tell you and that you record it, and pass it along to those you trust." My emphasis on the word trust has her leaning away from me, her eyes shifting nervously. Her face scrunches up in contemplation.

I do not doubt that she will comply with my request. It is you who I fear will reject the idea. You had never intended to become a hero, to have your name remembered. You only wanted to save the home you had and the people you loved.

And **this** is what I wish for her to tell. That is what I want people to remember. That what you did, you did out of the love and the goodness of your heart; for beorc, laguz and branded. Surely you will accept this?

"Of course. I had not intended to ask you for…something so important and not spread the truth of it. I have searched far and long through Tellius for someone of the war, someone close to the savior of Tellius. Finding you…well, it's only right that I save this piece of history that you will share with me and give it to those who will treasure it as much as I will." She folds her hands in her lap and smiles serenely, looking at the ground. Her look tells me that I am telling the right person.

"And my name is Atheria." She places her right hand over her heart and the other she makes a fist and places it on the ground and bows. It is a greeting I have not seen before though I find vaguely familiar, perhaps from the far western part of Begnion. It has been a long time since we have been to that side of Begnion so I cannot be certain of its origin. I merely bow my head in return.

It is time though. Are you ready, my friend?

"The war between Crimea and Daein was fierce and brutal…"

_The war between Crimea and Daein was fierce and brutal and the lives lost during that time were more than Tellius had seen in a long time. Of course, now, we know that it had all been the plan of Prime Minister Sephiran to destroy the 'unworthy creatures' of Tellius. But at the time Ashnard, King of Daein was a brutal ruler and a mad one. It was Ashnard's dark ambitions, with some push from the Black Knight at the request of Sephiran that led to the war. _

_His first act was to take Crimea's capital, Melior, swiftly. They hit hard and fast and took Crimea by surprise. In his gamble, Ashnard succeeded in killing King Ramon, his wife and Lord Renning. Thus, leaving Crimea with no successor, and a land without a ruler. _

_At the time I had been in Melior, training with another mercenary group, though I despised it the entire time. Looking for information I went to Melior's library when I heard the sound of war. The piercing shriek of what I knew had to be wyvern's, struck a chord within me, something that told me what was to come. Leaving the library quickly only confirmed my fears. Soldiers clad in ebony armor stormed through the capital as if they owned it. _

"Wait, you were there? When Daein made their first attack on Crimea?" Her wide blue eyes are full of curiosity and disbelief.

"Yes, I was." She nods as if accepting it. When she doesn't speak anymore, I continue.

_Working quickly through possible outcomes in my mind, I came to the conclusion that Crimea would fall. Even then I knew that Crimea did not stand a chance. Though it was equipped for battle and its men were trained, it was a peaceful land, weak and ill-prepared for this ambush. And I knew then that I had to tell him, all of them who belonged to the Greil Mercenaries. _

_I left quickly, caring not for what would become of Crimea nor the mercenary group that I had spent a few months with. They were of no consequence to me. _

_It was days before I came upon the place where you were. Days wasted. Though a mercenary I can be called I am still only a mage. With my weak body it took time to actually get back. But when I did, when I crossed the rise that showed me our stronghold on the horizon I quickened my step, if not to warn of the impeding danger, but to see him. _

_I first came upon Mist, though I suppose you could say it was Shinon and Gatrie. But I surpassed them quickly; hoping to run into him, ignoring what I would guess would be a few subtle insults from Shinon. Not wanting to expose my initial reason for coming, I asked Mist where Greil was and proceeded to the mess hall. In the end, I knew her nosing manner would lead her to tell him of my return. There I found Greil and Titania discussing something in hushed tones though I heard his name among the words. _

"_Commander Greil." He looked up at me, a spark of confusion in his eyes. _

"_Soren. What are you doing back so soon?" But Greil was neither stupid nor ignorant. He knew that something was wrong. _

"_Troubling news Commander. It's Crimea." Greil's eyes narrowed and Titania's widened in surprise. _

"_Soren," she said, looking from Greil to me, "what are you talking about?" And then he appeared. _

"Commander Ike!" Her face is full of wonder, interrupting me again. "What did he look like? Was he magnificent, like the women say? Did he roar in battle, like the warriors say? Did his eyes waver like the depths of the ocean when he killed men?" Her stories, gods help me, are like the gossip-myths of the bustling towns we used to pass through in our younger days. The ones where young women would fawn over you, young men would admire you and the old ones would look on you with pride.

She is full of spirit, this Atheria.

"May I continue?" She blushes fiercely to her roots and folds her hands neatly on her lap. She nods her head affirmatively.

_Greil tells Titania to gather everyone in the hall. She leaves, always the obedient one. Greil also told him to report there as well, leaving in haste._

"_Soren. What are you doing back so soon?" To understand the feelings I had for him, one would have to know who I was and where I had come from. _

"_Bad news. Something big is happening, and we need to formulate a plan of action." If Ike had looked pleased to see me before, he now looked hardened, and worried. _

"_Soren!" For a moment he looked as if he was going to rebuke me for avoiding him. But it was gone just as quick. _

"_Hello, Ike. Long time, no see." It had been months since I had seen him, seen any of the Greil Mercenaries. I hadn't realized how much I had missed being around them. _

"_I'm happy to see you're back." He was happy to see me. Happy to see _me_. "But what happened? I thought you were going to be studying for a while longer." I should have, would have, didn't want to, but a war was coming. I had to tell them. _

"_It's a long story…" Long indeed, for Crimea's end was only just the beginning. _

"_What's the hold up? Get over here now!" Greil's voice roars out through the camp, cutting out conversation short. Duty calls, and I know that I must report. _

"_Let's go. I'll fill you in later." _

_Greil debriefs the rest of the group, filling them in on where I've been and what I've been doing. They don't know what I've been doing, which is how I like it. They are wary of me and I don't trust them, so there is no need for them to know. But it is for that reason that I come and go. Gathering information has always been a particular skill set of mine. _

"…_Go ahead, Soren." War, between Daein and Crimea. I can see their faces and none of them can believe it. _

"_All right." _

_Laying out the map of Tellius before me, I told them of the past three days. My visit to the royal library, the scream of a terrible beast, the earth trembling, the black knights glistening in the sun. I remember that day even now, ingrained forever in my memory. It was the turning point of our lives. _

_It was the Daein army. There had been nothing to provoke an attack of this scale. Minor skirmishes of course, but nothing large enough to force Daein's hand. Daein laid the capitol to waste. It was a well-placed move on Ashnard's part. Lord Renning took his men to meet the attack as the King ordered his people to flee. I also took that chance to make my escape. _

"_And you, Soren?" Did I want to be involved? No. I didn't want to be involved in the war. We were mercenaries. That was why I had joined them. I had no loyalties to anyone, didn't have to fight for someone I didn't want to. I was selfish back then, as I felt I had the right too. I may still be just a little selfish even now. _

"_We are not Crimea's private militia." And there was no reason for us to fight for them. To die for them. _

"_No coin has crossed our palms, so I think we should stay out of it." Money was my primary gain. Money and the safety of my own life. My own and Ike's, that is. _

_Greil questioned my morality. As an ex-General, his feelings were sentimental and unfound. Crimea _would_ fall. There was no question about it. No matter if we intervened or not. Daein was the stronger of the two and we would do them no good, but to forfeit our own lives in the process. _

"You've changed since then, haven't you?" She looks at me, her face inquisitive. I can't help but wonder what she has heard about me.

"They say you were Commander Ike's second-in-command. His strategist and even his confidante. No matter what the Lady Titania was, you were the one he counted on the most." To hear her say that means…more to me than I will ever let her know.

_Crimea fell, to the hands of Ashnard. And the royal family was killed. We were sent to scout the area, to see what our eyes could tell us. _

_And what we found was our future. _

_What we found was hope._

* * *

**Reviews are a sign of your kindness.**

**A/N**: So, for those who may _care_, there may be shounen-ai **hints**. As in, Ike and Soren. It's not really going to be like that (or I don't know, maybe it will), but the way I interpret it is that way. Soren always seemed a little _more than _interested in Ike, whether this is because of his branded status or because of other situations, I don't know. That's why I'm telling you what this may all sound like. So I guess if you don't like that stuff, see ya later.


End file.
